Ye Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan

It was not supposed to be this. I wanted FM to be my 1^st run in Mumbai & also my 1^st FM to be in Mumbai. Being the lazy person that I am, I have never been in a position to prepare for running this long. Even Standard Chartered gave up all its hope of seeing me & stopped sponsoring the event. Not to let down the Tatas (and to get a feel of the event & the climate), this year I registered for the HM at Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM). Thus, Mumbai found me awake early on a late-January morning geared up for the 21K.

I departed with the regulars, brother Vikas & Rahul, in a cab at 05:30 for the venue. Both being Mumbaikars, I didn’t have to worry about anything. But they had not factored the Metro work underway in South Mumbai. And we landed in a huge traffic jam (the 1^st of the day) just as we were about to cross Bandra for Mahim. With the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) closed for the event, all south-bound traffic (including trucks & dumpers) were now in this pre-BWSL era route. The entire suburban Mumbai seemed to be participating in the TMM. Some runners were so frustrated that they had started walking towards the venue. Or they may have been the non-serious ones who, taking advantage of this jam, simply decided to walk to the finish point & collect their finisher medal!! But the traffic moved & we reached Doordarshan junction where a volunteer informed about a BEST bus waiting to pick up runners. (It has been ages since I travelled in one.) Upon alighting, Vikas & Rahul scampered ahead as we were already late, but not me. Because hum wahan se daudte hain, jahan se marathon shuru hoti hai. A longish walk (with a pee break) & I arrived at an empty holding area.

Another longish walk to the start point & I realized 23 minutes (beyond the flag off time) is not really late at the TMM. It was a big crowd there, reminding one of the scene inside a Mumbai local. Next time I am taking a Mumbai local so as to reach the venue in time.

I was in for a 3^rd walk – from the starting mat this time, thanks to the crowd (of participants). It was a few hundred metres (rather more) before I could even start running. I didn’t regret this as the three walks were all the warm up I could get, late as we were in reaching the venue. An Indian Navy (going by its white uniform) band played Hum Honge Kamyaab as the runners began their 21.1 KM run.

And a slow jog when some space opened up. Maybe the Bhangra group (or the one dressed in typical Punjabi attire & playing what seemed like Punjabi music) has charged up the runners who now realize they are attending a running event. We are now at the Worli sea front (it is still as crowded) & I get the 1^st glimpse of the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL). Long after the political power moved to Delhi & commercial power to Mumbai, Calcutta (now Kolkata) prided itself on its trams & the Howrah Bridge. Now that the BWSL has been constructed & the trams having disappeared into history, it is left with only Didi! I have often traveled on the Sea Link but this will be the 1^st time I will be doing so on foot. A group of Dholchis pushes us on to the BWSL. But the cable stayed bridge is still a long way away. The approach has a slight incline & the runners are cautious enough not to waste their energy so early in the run. We cross the approach & are now running over the sea. And there is a sea of runners in front too (as you can see in the pic). BWSL (in fact, the entire route) is closed for traffic. I wish other marathon organisers (specifically those in Ahmedabad & Baroda) could, like TMM, tell the motorists, “Ye marathon ka route hai, tumhare baap ki sadak nahi”.

A signage on the LCD signboard says, “Two Wheeler & Pedestrian not allowed”. Maybe, runners are not pedestrians & considered no less than an automobile, at least by the authorities. Pride is the dominant emotion at this point! Immediately the signage changes to “Speed Limit 80 KMPH”. And I realize they either forgot to change the signage or did not bother to do so. Couldn’t they at least have shut it off for the duration of the run? Even the Ethiopians & the Kenyans do not run so fast.

And we are now on the cable stayed part of the bridge. Some runners stop to take a Sea Link Selfie, this being once-in-a-year opportunity to do so. Quite a few have now slowed down after the (mild) climb on the approach. And I take off (somewhere just before the turnaround). I cross the 3:00 hour bus in the return over the BWSL, which means I should finish under 02:30 easily.

The faster FMers are now seen on the other side even before one gets off the BWSL. There are quite a few from Baroda doing the longest run (actually, the FMers from Baroda outnumber the HMers). The first known face is that of Dr. Manoj Subramaniam (have I spelled his last name correctly?). He is a comrade (not the type found in Kerala but the ones who complete a grueling event called Comrades Marathon). And a little behind comes Rajinder Singh, the Surd I often bump into when running on the streets near my home (his flowing white beard making him look much older than he is). I am at the Sea Front now & get a friendly wave of recognition from Hiren Mehta. The FM here has a large participation (around 7000) & it is difficult to spot the 35-odd FMers from Baroda. This is quite a big number for Baroda, but the no. of participants is also equally large. We get back on to the Worli Seafront & the navicular starts paining. This has happened earlier too & I think it is usually the case when I wear Brooks. I hadn’t experienced this for quite some time. So I took this pair with me as these are quite comfortable & have a nice pacy feeling. Also, the pain persists for some time & then disappears. So I just curled the toes, landed slightly on the outer side of the foot & carried on, ignoring the pain because Mard ko dard nahi hota.

One spots Haji Ali soon enough. The dreadful part (so one has been told on facebook, blog posts & personal accounts) lies just beyond – Peddar Road flyover. A short stop to get the blood moving properly (thakaan se darr nahi lagta sahab, cramps se lagta hai) & I trot towards the infamous (among runners) flyover. I am doing a good pace & a 02:15 finish looks plausible. I plan to run-walk the stretch to make up for lost time at the start before going all out at Churchgate. But, as Wodehouse so famously reminded, the best laid plans of men & mice are soon laid to waste (or something on these lines). It is another traffic jam ahead on the flyover. Some time back, what were runners ahead are now walkers & what were walkers are now crawlers. Many would have given up at this stage, but they have taken the lesson from 3 Idiots to heart – Bachcha, finish karo, finish… Medal to saala jhak maar ke tumko milega. Moving forward, I glance to my left at the super-expensive architectural monstrosity which goes by the name of Antilia. But there’s no one to be seen on the balconies or at the windows to cheer the sole runner in the extended family. Maybe he is yet to pass by, or the brothers are still a long way apart. I walk the Peddar Road flyover to the top. And find the runners flying down (OK, running down) now, which opens up some space. I resume my run.

I have always heard that the crowd support is tremendous at TMM (or SCMM, as it used to be called). I experience it first-hand this time. From the Heera-Panna market onwards, it seems there are more people cheering than those running! Only a few are empty handed. As if they are telling me, Runner bhai, TMM bachcho ke daudne ki cheez nahi hoti, dehydration ho jaye to cramps aa jaate hain. If not the fruits or water or biscuits, they are carrying placards with the best one-liners I have seen anywhere. In fact, the wit is far better than what I found in Rajkot or Kochi, where it was more of an institutional effort. Not to forget a group of Japanese (else, why should they carry the Japanese flag?) who were handing out Yakult to the runners. I have found the crowd support better only in Rajkot, but that was the 1^st ever HM in town & organized by the district administration with participation of schools (forced?) & other institutions (compelled?). At TMM, this appeared to be spontaneous & entirely voluntary. Mumbai Road Runners (going by their facebook page) had a large contingent of volunteers at their creative best. The chest swelled upon reading “You are a Human Rocket”. And nothing has ever been truer than “Sweat is Sexy”! Not to forget some considerate chaps too who pumped us up with “Kenyans are finishing all the beer” & also reminded that “the beer is getting warm”. I think these particular guys should be sent along with Team India on overseas tours (especially Australia & South Africa). But the authorities always goof up, like the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai in this case. Maybe the missing Bin was symbolic of the state of civic affairs in Mumbai. Well, bade bade shaharo mein, aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rahti hain.

We come to Charni Road & the sun is out now. The Girgaon Chowpatti on the right, railway tracks to the left & there are no high rise buildings to provide shade as we run. Bisleri has put up (or sponsored & branded) cooling zones along the route, basically a covered passage fine spraying a jet of water. I went through a couple but missed quite a few in the crowd! The regulars found the TMM hot, but I felt it was wonderful weather (perhaps the cooling zones helped). Not really humid. And neither cold nor warm. In fact, Goa (early Dec. in 2016) was warmer & Kochi (mid-Nov. in 2015) was very bad in terms of temperature as well as humidity. Maybe I was expecting Mumbai to be equally bad. To think that all along I have been hesitant to run the SCMM as it is held on the 3^rd Sunday of January, when the temperatures have started rising. Well, I should consider coming here regularly.

Now a days I wear a cap during the long runs. Previously, I wore sweat bands on the wrists but they get wet fast in warm weather and, being thick, do not dry during the long runs. So I started wearing sleeves which are much better. But once I didn’t & some sweat went into the eye. It was a horrible experience, so I now wear a cap & wear it backwards, afraid that if it gets too wet the sweat may again drip into the eye. The damp cap also helps in keeping the head from getting hot. Why to have another hot headed person on the road when there already are so many? And pour some water on the neck to bring down the body temperature. (I have said this earlier too, you can expect some running gyaan on this blog.)

We are on the Marine Drive. The finish is not too far now, but the hamstring tendons are feeling the strain. Did I over-exert too early? I remind myself that I have completed a FM just two weeks back & push forward. Also that there are people (not just the Kenyans) who are right now downing the beer. Yes, it is painful. The foot as well as the knees (as also the thought that stock of beer is depleting). But I am not really feeling tired. The preparation for the FM is coming useful now, as also the GU Gel that Vikas gave me in the morning. Of course, there is the planned beer session with friends after the race & they would have started much earlier than I did. I believe this is what really helped in running through the pain. You know what, kabhi kabhi daaru peene ke liye daudna bhi padta hai. Aur daudne ke baad peene wale ko marathoner kahte hain.

And one comes to Churchgate. This is one station where you can get a window seat of choice in the general compartment of a local train during off-peak hours. But only because this is where they start from & you are present when the empty train arrives! Also a heritage town with beautiful buildings constructed when architecture was a work of art. But today, loads of money can only buy you an Antilia. A left turn soon after & seeing the no. of people on both the sides, it appears as if the 08:40 Virar local is about to arrive. I am aware there were no rail tracks here, but for all I know, Achhe Din may have already arrived in Mumbai. Talking of Achhe Din, I didn’t come across any of the famed potholes today. Maybe, Mumbai patched those up for the TMM.

There were so many distance markers in the latter part that runners felt like, Kilometer par Kilometer, Kilometer par Kilometer, Kilometer par Kilometer milte rahte hain, lekin finish line nahi milti my Lord. MIlte hain to sirf Kilometer markers. But they give way to Meter Markers now that we are so close to the finish. It is a narrow road & the runners are already cramped for space. Plus, these were the slower ones. There is no way one can comfortably run the last stretch. Of course, traffic jams are a way of life for the Mumbaikars & they won’t really mind this. I feel happy for Rakesh Rawat who is doing the FM today. He always sprints to the finish. Had he been here with me, he would have waited till the cut off time to make that last dash over the last timing mat! I only got to walk my way past the mat into another side street at CST.

The sis would have been tracking me, as she called up to wish me on finishing the maiden Mumbai HM. And told me the finish time, which was the fastest I have over this distance. That was the last call for some time. I tried calling Vikas, Durgesh, Prasad Menon & a few others who would have finished by now. But none of the calls connect. I move to the finisher zone & am guided to the medal counter where I receive the medal & a bag containing an apple, something wrapped in paper, a packet of Maggie noodles & two sachets of coffee powder. I decided to collect my bag from the baggage truck & then look for some hot water to make myself noodles & a strong coffee. I had just collected my bag when I received the call from Durgesh who told me that he was already moving towards Café Leopold. And informed that one has to walk back to Churchgate to get a cab. I was on my feet again & a friendly fellow runner I met at Churchgate, on being asked directions, advised me to walk (if I could, was what he enquired first) along with him (he was going to Mondegar, another iconic watering hole) till the rendezvous point. Where I caught up with Durgesh. While we waited for my Omelet (Durgesh already had one) & our beer (he waited for me to join), he took charge of the medal ritual this time…

                                                                    

P.S.: We were yet not through with our 1^st beer at Leopold & Prasad Menon rolled in on Ceat Tyres. (Actually, with Rupesh, who works with Ceat). An extended beer session & I decided to be a regular at TMM. Because, FM abhi baaki hai mere dost.

The VIM 2018 earns 7 Stars

What do you call it when it ticks all the right boxes & what turns out is a blockbuster. The 7^th edition of Vadodara International Marathon (VIM) on 7^th January called itself the 7-star Marathon. Deservingly, because this one was a near flawless event.

I was doing my maiden FM & the usual gang was not in the assigned enclosure when I got to the venue. Rajinder Singh, who I usually bump into while running, was. My regular pacer, Suresh Iyengar, was doing the HM. But his running mate, Shital Pawar, was also in for his maiden FM & we were chatting when the race was flagged off. Thus, we started out together for the first time despite so many events that we have done together. Now, Shital is a guy who does his HM’s in 2 hours. He started out in the same fashion for the FM too. After a few hundred metres with him, I realized I was running too fast & asked him to carry on while I dropped my pace. I was wearing my GRM jersey with my name printed on it. Soon after falling behind Shital, this guy joins me & the first thing he asks me is how do they measure our timing. I asked him whether he was doing the FM (believing he was a HM participant who had started out with the wrong group) & he confirmed that. Dutifully informed him where the chip was located & how the timing was measured. He was also named Ashish & this perhaps made him approach a namesake.

This was his first event, not having participated in any HM earlier. But he assured me that he has been practicing long for this one, as he wanted the FM to be his first event. Though not as fast as Shital, he was also too fast for my liking & I wished him best for the run & slowed down to a comfortable (for me) pace. Later, looking at the timing website I found that this other Ashish in FM category had not crossed the 3^rd the time check. If you plan to run the FM in future, give your body enough time to get used to running long distances. (Yes, you will always get some running gyan on this blog.)

We go over the Vishwamitri overbridge shortly after the start. But for two bridges, (the other one coming just before the finish) & the slight incline at the FM turnaround, the route is quite flattish. At the bridge, I noticed two trains at the Vishwamitri Railway Station. Had they stopped to watch the marathon, or did the overzealous cops stop them to let the runners pass? I had a long distance to cover & I did not wait for the answer.

Crossing the Vishwamitri bridge, we came to Akshar Chowk where Rakesh Rawat turned up. Rakesh, we all know, runs for four things. When he doesn’t run, as in this VIM, he volunteers. He was also handling a camera this time. He is a very good runner & an equally committed volunteer. Sadly, he is not a good low-light photographer. Don’t know why Reni abandoned this post.

By this time the fastest of the HM runners were speeding past me. Just after crossing HCG Cancer Centre, the 2:00 hr bus of Rajesh Tiwari sped ahead. I ran after him & jokingly requested to let me aboard. He got the shock of his life seeing me with him & only his sturdy heart saved him. With HCG right behind, pls be assured that this was not putting him at any risk. But this was just a joke & I let the bus go without me.

The turnaround at the first time check & I am back on the Sun Pharma Road & onwards into the OP Road. The 10K runners had been flagged off by this time & OP Road was flooded with them. With a few known HM runners running past me. Kedar Borkar being one of them. I had gone to my first HM (bSafal in Jan. 2015) with him. During these three years, he has discarded his shoes & now runs bare feet. He really enjoys it. And saves a ton of money on running shoes too. Those of you who have known him only recently, pls be informed that the smile on his face has been there even when he ran in shoes. 

I heard my name being called out just before Manisha Circle. Looking behind, it turned out to be Sachin Parikh, out walking (he would have found it quite warm compared to the weather back in Canada, where he lives). A quick hug was all I had time for, this being the maiden long one. But he is here in Baroda this week only & I need to catch up with him one of these days.

As I mentioned, the 10K runners were all over OP Road & the cops had a tough time managing the traffic. They were firm in standing up to the aggressive crowd. In fact, the traffic was very well managed at the VIM this time. Nowhere else, except Rajkot, have I found it managed as well. Only if they are able to manage it even half as well during normal days, driving on Baroda roads would not be so dreadful & stressful.

Turning left from Old Padra Road, we move to low traffic areas. In fact, there is sparsely any traffic after Nilamber Circle till the Gotri-Sevasi Road. And practically none after we turned right towards Chandan multiplex. After Chandan, the road has large green tracts on both sides. Forget vehicles, one doesn’t even come across a human except some fellow runners. And the volunteers at the turnaround point. Piyush Kunal offered me whatever I wanted, subject to permissibility under the dry laws. I already had my bottle of water & declined his offer, cursing the prevailing law. But the ill will is momentary, for the route enchants the runner in me. The sun was already up by this time but there was no hint of heat, the weather being so cold. The route this edition was wonderful & hope VIM sticks to this one for all subsequent events.

We turn left upon reaching Sevasi-Gotri Road to return back to civilization. Traffic is still sparse. Volunteers are still there at the turn with the provisions. But Nikky Joshi is no longer seen. Maybe, he was too tired after the hectic last few days bringing up the event. And it is still lonely. There were a couple of runners ahead of me who I soon overtook. It is now around 10 KM (after crossing Decathlon the first time round) that I have been running with very few runners in sight. I am still going at a 07:00 min pace & feel (apart from lonely) this can be maintained for quite some time. Running along, a cyclist comes along & turns out to be Nikki. Unlike the previous editions, the volunteers this time were at their posts till the end. And not just Nikky or Piyush,

Now we turn right towards Nilamber circle. It feels closer to the finish now. A little ahead a guy is running backwards. I have seen many people running backwards or sideways in the midst of their runs. But this one just keeps going on in this fashion & I am convinced that this is his preferred style. And I wonder why he doesn’t wear his Bib on his front, which is actually his back. I mean, he had put his Bib on the chest but he was running backwards & it should have been on the other side. Later, I was told he did the entire FM running backwards. I think he did this so that he could count the no of runners who overtook him & be sure of his position even before the updated results are put up on the timing partner’s website. Coming to think of it, if someone runs backwards throughout should his/her splits be always considered negative? Also, I think the route for such runners should be from finish to start so that they appear normal to the others!!

I got a few calls on the mobile this time. The first one to do so was my good friend RK Menon. I opted not to receive it. He called again & when I picked it up (thinking it would be something urgent) he asks “kidhar pahucha”. It was just 25 KM & I was still feeling strong & gave him a straight answer. Had he been an hour or more later, it would have been a real nasty one. We haven’t met post VIM & when we do so, the first thing I will ask him is why did he ask that question. As I neared Nilamber circle, I got a call from the wife, who had completed her HM, asking me the same thing. She was lucky too. Lucky, because she also got a straight answer. But not lucky enough as, she informed me, the HM runners were being refused ORS on the way because it was being preserved for the FM guys. Later, at home, she informed that almost all the hydration points were handing out only water to the HMers, keeping the ORS & oranges for the FMers. The 02:45 HM pacer, Dina Patel, was totally pissed off with this & discarded her flag mid run. It is a good thing to not let the provisions run out when those doing the FM come around, for they need it the most. But not refusing to support the HM runners. This was the only shortcoming of this edition.

Its over 35 KM now & I am not in a very good shape. Walk breaks have begun. The runs are at a pace of over 07:45. The walk breaks keep getting longer. It is hurting more. There are some 2/3 runners who got ahead when I took a walk break. When they do so, I get ahead. All are in the same boat. During one of these walks, a group of armymen runs past. I pull myself up & start running, keeping up with them for some time. Which exacerbates the pain. The knee hurts badly when stretched. Even when I walk. A little after 38 KM, I stopped tracking. I will walk rest of the way & still finish much before the cut off time.

I was already on the OP road. The traffic is still being managed for the event. I recall the previous year, when some of us runners (Reni, Nishant, Harjeet, Ajay) positioned ourselves under the Fatehganj overbridge to stop the traffic when the FM runners passed by. But nothing like that this time round. Take a bow, team VIM. A car slowed down as it crossed me. It was Rajiv Bhatia along with Mr. Onkar Singh. I had my water & didn’t need the fruits & they went ahead. They were still on the job. Reni zoomed past & stopped a little ahead, bringing out his camera. I ran a bit as he took the pictures. Running photos ke liye kuchh bhi karunga!!

Crossed OP Road at Tube company junction. The traffic is stopped as I approach, but I can only walk. I go past Classic Tea, but there is no one hanging around & missed a cup of tea with friends. I cross the Gateway hotel & am almost near the finish. And soon I am at the Akota-Dandia Bazaar bridge. Reni arrives on his bike, egging me on. At the top of the bridge the finish point comes into view. It is still some way away. As I get to the other side of the bridge, the runner a little ahead of me is getting directions from a guy in the car. I reach there & the car stops to guide me to the finish. It turned out to be Dr. Nagesh Kamat, who runs ultras when life gets a bit boring & today's 04:50 FM pacer. Another biker has joined the runner in front, who is also only able to walk. I am joined by Reni. And I realize I have miscalculated the cut off time by around 15 minutes. But I am so close to the finish that I will make it. And I did. There are no runners around, except Hiral. A short chat with him & I get into the medical center for some much-needed stretching. It took some time to find a vacant bed, for all the runners were inside. The guy did a good job & I felt, except for a painful knee, much better. I came out with the medal still round my neck.